Baiken
Baiken Seishino '(セイシノバイケン) is a fictional character from the ''Guilty Gear ''fighting game series. She is one of the only few characters who are Japanese (others being May and Anji Mito). During the Crusades, the nation of Japan was destroyed by the Gears. Following this, those of Japanese descent who still lived were declared cultural treasures and placed in special colonies. However, the Gears attacked even these colonies. During one attack, the young Baiken, after watching the death of her parents and losing her right arm and left eye, saw standing among the Gears their creator: "That Man." From that point, she swore revenge, training herself in the use of the katana and dedicated herself to hunting "That Man" down. Baiken was a hidden character in ''Guilty Gear but became a normal character in the later installments. Armed with a Katana, she also has many hidden surprise weapons within the sleeve of her severed arm: a Japanese mace, a fireworks cannon, a bladed fan, a chain rope, a hook, a claw, and a spear. Character design Baiken was heavily inspired by Himura Kenshin, to the point where her initial physical appearance in the first game was a pallette swap of Kenshin. It is said that Daisuke Ishiwatari (the character designer) got the idea when he saw a picture of Kenshin and mistook him for a woman. Story '''Background When Baiken was a child, the Gears attacked the Japanese Institute she was living in at the time. During the invasion she witnessed the bloody death her parents and other people, her right arm was severed and left eye gouged out. Amidst the flames she could only see the silhouette of That Man and swore revenge on him and presumably the Gears as well, for what they had done. Guilty Gear Baiken was a hidden boss and secret character in this game, and thus was not a major part of the story. Presumably, she entered the tournament seeking revenge on the Gears, specifically Justice. She is no longer a hidden character in later games. Guilty Gear X Baiken is still seeking her revenge, hunting down "monsters," including Gears such as Sol Badguy and others she considers to be demons, including Potemkin and Faust. Her first ending has her nearly killing Testament and Dizzy, but then letting them go; her stated reason being that she can't find That Man. Her other ending has her accompanying Johnny for a drink. Guilty Gear XX Baiken continues her search for That Man. She eventually runs into Anji Mito, who is also seeking That Man, but Anji does not wish to kill him; instead he wants to ask him questions concerning Gears. Therefore, in order to save the keeper of such knowledge, Anji attempts to halt Baiken. In one of her endings, she meets That Man, but is unable to harm him. In another, the Post-War Administration Bureau sends a brainwashed May and a Robo-Ky after her, and she has a fairly easy time dispatching them. In her third ending, Anji stalls her, but she spares his life on the condition that he shares the information he managed to gather from That Man. ''Guilty Gear XX Λccent Core Plus'' In this game, Baiken continues her search for revenge against That Man. Ultimately, she fails on finding him, but Anji insists on becoming her new accomplice. In her first ending she is shown with Anji at her side vowing to protect her as he also quits his status as a follower of 'That Man'. He states that he "doesn’t want her to die" and brings Baiken to the cold realization that 'That Man' is beyond both of them. They now travel together, Baiken apparently giving up on her vengeance. Her second ending (after killing I-No) portrays Baiken still on the run seeking vengence, with Ky Kiske chasing her for her crimes as "Baiken the Killer". It's likely the first is the canonical ending. Trivia *Baiken is likely named, using different kanji, after Baiken Shishido (宍戸梅軒), an Edo period samurai. *Baiken's special move "Tatami Gaeshi" is a reference to trap-doors in straw panel flooring (tatami) which are a cliché in Japanese period dramas. *Among the playable characters, Baiken is the only one who has no musical reference. *Baiken is one of and perhaps the only Guilty Gear characters that has been able to actually murder and/or fatally wound I-no, though that scene is not considered to be canon. Gallery Image:Baikenggx.jpg|Baiken Profile Picture Image:Baiken-series1.gif|Alternate color of Baiken Image:Ggx am ba.jpg|Baiken's Arcade ending in 'Guilty Gear X' Image:Ggxae am ba.jpg|Baiken's Arcade ending in 'Guilty Gear X Advance Edition' Image:Ggxplus sm ba1.jpg|Baiken's first Story Mode ending in 'Guilty Gear X Plus' Image:Ggxplus sm ba2.jpg|Baiken's second Story Mode ending in 'Guilty Gear X Plus' Image:Ggxxr am ba.jpg|Baiken's Arcade ending in 'Guilty Gear XX #RELOAD' Image:Ggi am ba.jpg|Baiken's Arcade ending in 'Guilty Gear Isuka' Image:Ggxplus mm 17.jpg|'Guilty Gear X Plus' Mission 17 Image:Ggxplus mm 33.jpg|'Guilty Gear X Plus' Mission 33 Image:Ggxplus mm 33a.jpg|'Guilty Gear X Plus' Mission 33a Image:Ggxxr mm 09.jpg|'Guilty Gear XX #RELOAD' Mission 9 Image:Ggxxr sm ba1.jpg|Baiken's 'Guilty Gear XX #RELOAD' Story Mode ending Path 1 Image:Ggxxs am ba.png|Baiken's 'Guilty Gear XX Slash' Arcade ending Image:Ggxxac am ba.png|Baiken's 'Guilty Gear XX Accent Core' Arcade ending Image:Ggxxac ex ba.png|Baiken's 'Guilty Gear XX Accent Core' EX Arcade ending ggxxacp-story-baiken2.jpg|Baiken's GGXAC path 2 ending. baiken_086.jpg|Baiken's GGXAC Path 1 ending. baiken_084.jpg|Baiken's GGXAC Mission ending Sprite Category:Guilty Gear Characters Category:Humans